This week we’re not going to squat quite as much. I bet I got you, didn’t I? Be honest. OK, now that’s over…This week we’re gonna squat every damn day, just like we have been every damn week for past four weeks. Surprisingly, my legs have never felt better or felt stronger. I’ve planned our weightlifting training out through next March. I’ve mashed together a couple of programs from Greg Everett’s book to create something that will have us focusing on the classic lifts every other week and accessory exercises and complexes every other week. This will keep us proficient at the classic lifts without boring us to tears.
This program takes us to maximum quite often, but to keep you alive I need you to understand what type of maximum we’re talking about. When you see “max for the day” it means the most you can lift that day. This may be paltry compared to your 1RM–or you might set a new 1RM. It will be different every day. But when the program calls for “max for the day” you should go into it with no expectation whatsoever of the load you should lift that day. Part of being an advanced lifter is not expecting PR and competition level performance from yourself on every training day. Newbies can do that. But if you don’t eventually drop that mindset you’ll end up frustrated or even injured. If you embrace this idea then I’ve found you can make much progress. Going to maximum often gives you many chances to hit the right day where everything is firing and you can set a PR. So when you’re feeling good and the weights are light–go for it. Take that opportunity when it comes, because it doesn’t come often. And when the weights are feeling heavy and you’re beat down–just slog through the work and don’t worry about the load you’re lifting.
Practically, this means you should rarely miss, especially on strength movements like squats and presses. If you miss on a snatch, clean, or jerk, ask yourself why. Did you do something wrong and you’re confident you can correct it? Then give yourself one more lift and correct it. Did you execute the lift pretty well and it just felt too heavy? Then you’ve found your max for the day (the previous made lift) and it’s time to move on.
The “technical max” of the squat every day program is similar. You’re going to maximum five days a week on different lifts. That means you should never be excessively grinding through a lift, and missing should certainly be a rarity.
In conclusion: Be patient. Lift heavy as you can that day, but don’t expect PR performance every day or even every month. When you feel good and things are clicking–go for it. When things aren’t clicking, just get through the work at whatever load you can and survive to train another day.
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